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Strategies of production and the relationship with the practice of technological innovation
Abstract
The innovation is considered as very important to Brazilian industrial sector, given that these organizations are embedded in dynamic competitive environments. Thus, it is observed a relationship between the practices of innovation and the organizational strategies. In this context, this study aims to analyze how technological innovation, product innovation and process innovation are part of the production strategies of an aluminum production plant in Rio Grande do Sul. This is a descriptive and exploratory research with qualitative nature and using the case study as method. The company in question is present in the energy, cement, metals, steel and pulp segments, but the selected drive restricts its production to aluminum. Data were collected through interviews with semi-structured questionnaires. The main results show a greater occurrence of process innovation than product innovation, which gives priority to flexibility in plant and costs. It is not observed in the company the innovation as a way to increase competitiveness, normally occurring as a way to increase profitability. It is observed that some features related to decision-making facilitate innovative practices, for example vertical integration, but the organizational practices are not well developed to support innovation.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18256/2237-7956/raimed.v6n1p4-18
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